Fence-machine



JQQRIDDLE. FENCE MACHINE.

No. 374,497. Patented Dec. 6, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. RIDDLE, OF PETERSBUBG, VIRGINIA.

FENCE-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 374,497, dated December 6, 188'].

Application filed August 19, 1887. Serial No. 247,394. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, JAMES O. RIDDLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Petersburg, in the county of Dinwiddie and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Erecting Fences, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact specification.

The object of my invention is to provide novel means for wiring in the pickets or planks comprising the fence; to which end my inventlon consists in the features and combination of devices hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of part of a picket fence, showing my improvements in posltion for holding the wires and twisting the latter about the picket; Fig. 2, a plan view of the parts comprising the wire-twister,these parts being separated; Fig. 3, an edge view of the twister, its parts being connected; Fig. 4', a perspective View of the guide-staff, and Fig. 5 a plan view of the parts of one of the guides of the staff for supporting the wires.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe the same in detail, referring to the drawings, where- The numeral 1 indicates the posts, 2 the parallel strands of wire, and 3 the pickets or planks. There may be two or more wire strands, each strand comprising two longitudinal pieces of a wire; but I have exhibited three strands to confine the ends of the pickets, and also their middle portion.

The wire-twister for wiring in the pickets consists of a lever or handle, 4, and a head comprising two plates, 5 and 6, each having a central perforation, 6*, for the passage of a bolt or pin, 7. The opposite edges of the plate 5 are provided with slots or notches 8, and the opposite edges of the plate 6 are also provided with notches or slots 8. The wire strands 2 are first engaged with the notches or slots of the plate 5, and the other plate, 6, isthen bolted in place with its notches or slots 8 en'- gaging the two wires. The notches in one plate extend in a direction opposite to the direction of the notches in the other plate, and

consequently the twister cannot become accidently disengaged from the wires,while itcau slide lengthwise along the wires with the connecting-bolt 7 located between the two wires composing the strand. There will'be as many twisters used as there are wire strands, which, as shown, are three in number.

The staff 9 stands vertically, as shown, and carries three guides for engaging the wire strands and holding them apart, and from entanglement as the work proceeds, and each guide consists of two plates, 10, secured side by. side at one end against the staff by a bolt, as at 11, and provided in their edges with two slots, 12, so that when the bolts are removed and said plates are engaged by their slots with the two wires of the strand they can be rigidly secured together and to the stafi by the bolt 11. The wires will now, respectively, engage the slots of the plates.

The staft will have as many wire-guides of the character described as there are wire strands, and the guides,with the staff, can be freely moved along the wires of the strands, holding the latter at their proper distances apart, one above the other.

In constructing a picket or plank fence by the use of my invention the fence-posts 1 are first fixed in the earth, and the pairs of wires are secured to the first post and then stretched along the postssay from fifty to one hundred feet, or any other convenient lengthand wrapped around the last post, the latter being properly braced to prevent its being pulled out of perpendicular position by the contraction of the wires which will be caused by weaving in the pickets. The bolts 7 are now removed and the wires engaged with the notches in platesoand 6, comprising the twisterhead, after which said bolt is applied to secure the plates 5 and 6 tightly together. The guides on the guidestaff are now connected with the pairs of wires by engaging them with the slots 12 of the plates 10, as before explained. The plates 10,being rigidly confined side by side to the staff by the bolt 11, hold the wires substantially parallel as the work proceeds. The

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to form one twist in each pair of wires next to the post to provide a space between the latter and the first picket. Afterward slide the twisters along the wires to create space for receiving the first picket, and then revolve the twisters in a direction the reverse of that first imparted to them, and thus continue to weave in the pickets, reversing the direction of rotation of the twisters with each picket, so as to prevent the wires being constantly twisted in the same direction between the twisters and the guide-statl. After each twister passes a fence-post the wires should be secured to the post by staples or other devices. The guidestafif is advanced as the pickets are secured in place and serves to retain the wires substan tially parallel. It will be obvious that when a picket is inserted and the wires twisted to secure said picket the wires will likewise be twisted between the twistcrs and the guidestaff; but when another picket is inserted the reverse rotation of the twisters uutwists the twisted part of the wires between the twisters and the guide staff.

Having fully described my invention, whatI claim is 1. As a means for wiring fence-pickets, the combination ofa guide-staff having two lateral guide-plates provided with slots to engage the fence-wires, one of which guide-plates is removable, and twister-s to engage the wires between the pickets and the guides on the guideplates of the staff, said twisters comprising a handle having a head with slots, and a plate detachably bolted to the center of said head, and having slots extending the reverse of the slots in the detachable head of the handle, substantially as described.

2. As a means for erecting wire and fence pickets, a guide-staff having slotted plates to engage and move along the wires in advance of the pickets, and wire twisters to move along the wires between the guidestaff and the pickets, said twisters composed of a hau dle, 4, having a head, 5, provided with a central bolt-hole,6, and edge slots 8, and a plate,6, having a bolt-hole and edge slots 8, extending in a direction the reverse of those in the handle-head, said head and plate being bolted together and the wires engaging the reverse slots, substantially as described.

ms. 0. RIDDLE.

\Vitnesses:

W. H. PRooToR, E. M. FIELD. 

